Pipe-wrench.



PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904- L. MILLS. PIPE WRENCH. APPLICATION mam) NOV. 2a, 1903.

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PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

Patented August 2, 1904.

LUKE MILLS, OF Lr-QVRFNCE. MASSAUI IUSFTTTS, COOLEY, OF LAlVRENCE,

TO ARTHUR P.

ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF MASSAC l-I USETTS.

PIPE-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,458, dated August 2, 1904, Application filed November 23,1903. Serial No. 182,245. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LUKE MILLS. of Lawrence, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Pipe- WVrenches, of which the following description. in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to that class of pipewrenches in which the inner jaw is movable upon the outer jaw and is forced to a limited extent toward the outer jaw by the handle as it is pulled to turn the pipe or other round body to which it is applied.

The object of my invention is to produce a pipe-wrench of the above-described character which is of simple and durable construction, which maybe readily adjusted and applied to round work of widely varying diameters, which cannot become locked thereon under any conditions, and therefore may be readily disengaged therefrom at all times without possibility of turning the work backward after it has been turned to the desired position.

1 accomplish these objects by the means shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of my device, showing the parts in different positions. Fig. 3 is central longitudinal sectional view. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the handle or operating-lever. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the pawl. Fig. 7 is a cross-section on the line :r :1 of Fig. 1. Figs. 8 and 9 are top and bottom views of the inner jaw. Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1/ 1/ of Fig. 1, and Fig. 11 illustrates a modified form of my invention.

The outer or stationary jaw u is provided with the usual corrugated or toothed workengaging face a" and with a shank (62, which extends approximately at right angles to said l face. The inner or movable jaw l) is provided with a correspondingly corrugated or toothed face 7/ at its front end and with a shank 0*, which extends from the opposite side of the jaw from its face approximately parallel to the shank (1 A slidablc connection is provided between said jaw I) and shank (6 by means of a rcctangular-shaped loop 0, which passes about the jaw 71 at its head and 5 about the shank 11 said jaw?) being provided with a pin in its under side (see Figs. 1, 2, and 9) and the ends of said loop overlapping and being provided with registering apertures in their overlapping portions through which said pin passes to connect the loop to the inner jaw. The shank of the inner jaw is provided with a shrouded rack b on its side opposite the shank The shank (L2 of the outer jaw is provided with a semicircular or hook-shaped end portion a, the extreme end of which is provided with a semicylindrical surface, and transversely-extending cylindrical lugs (Z project from opposite sides of said shank, the center line of said lugs being 5 coincident with the axes of said semicylindrical surface. The bottom surface of the recess a, which is formed between the hook and the end of the shank (f, is semicylindrical and continuous with the curved surface of the end 7 portion a".

An operating lever or handle 5 is provided with a recess a in its upper side, the front side of the wall of said recess being semicylindrical in form to provide a cross-barf, the radius of the curved surface of said bar being the same as the radius of the curved surface at the bottom of the recess a. The adjacent bottom portion of the recess 0' is likewise curved to correspond with the curve of the surface at the extreme end portion (1 A slot 1/" is provided in each side wall of the recess 0, said slots extending obliquely downward from the upper side of the lever and being adapted and arranged to receive the project- 5 ing ends of the lugs (Z, and recesses 0 extend upward at right angles from their lower ends a distance equal to about one-half the diameter of said lugs, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the width of said slot at all points 9 being slightly greater than the diameter of the lugs. Two ears 0 and J extend approximately at right angles from the opposite side of the handle from recess a, said ears being connected at their lower ends by a cross-bar 95 e, thus providing a rectangular-shaped opening 6 through which the end portion of the shank 6 passes.

A pawl f, having trunnions at each side thereof and a finger-piece f is arranged on the inner side of the cross-bar 6 said crossbar being provided with two shoulders 6 the front sides of which are recessed to receive said trunnions and between which the fingerpiece is fitted. A spring 9 is arranged on the inner side of the cross-bar e and extends between said cross-bar and the pawl, with one end bearing against the side thereof, the other end of said spring being secured to said cross-bar, so that said spring acts to hold the end of the pawl in engagement with the teeth of the rack 6.

The manner in which the above device op- 4 erates is as follows: It will be apparent that when the pawl is lifted out of engagement with the teeth of the rack the jaw 5 may be moved to any position desired between the ears 6 of the lever and the face of the outer jaw. The corrugated face of the outer jaw having been placed against the work at one side, the handle will be swung backward on the lugs cZtothe position shown in Fig. 3, drawing the cross-bar 6 out of engagement with the bottom of recess a and swin in the short arm of the lever formed by ears 6*, so as to withdraw the pawl as far as possible from the outer aw. Then the inner jaw will be pushed up against the opposite side of the pipe, as shown in Fig. 1. The teeth of the rack are preferably so arranged with respect to the ordinary or standard sizes of pipe that the pawl will fall nearly into engagement with a tooth of the rack when the faces of the jaws are in engagement with opposite sides of a pipe and the handle is in the position of Fig. 3. When the lever e is pulled forwardly, so as to rotate the same upon the pivot-lugs (Z, the crossbar 6 will be carried against the bottom of the recess a and the pawl f will be carried toward the outer jaw,

while in engagement with a tooth of the rack, moving the inner jaw toward the outer jaw and causing the jaw-faces to engage firmly the sides of the pipe. l/Vhen the cross-bar is moved against or engages the bottom of the recess a the lugs (2 will be resting upon the bottom of the groove 6 and the parts will be in the position of Fig. 1. The upper side of the opening 6 through the handle 6 is provided with a rounded projection e, and that portion of the surface thereof which is most remote from the center of lugs (Z lies in the straight line through said center which is perpendicular to the upper side of shank 6 such line being represented by dotted line 00 m, Fig. l. The pawl f acts to swing the shank 6 toward the projection e by reason of the pressure of the work on the jaw-face 6, causing the inner side of shank 6 to be pressed against the projection e" with-some force. When the parts are moved to the poward the handle a.

sition of Fig. 1, the handle can swing no farther on the lugs d, so that its fulcrum will be transferred to the center of cross-bar 6 causing the lugs (Z to be per end of the recess 0, leading from slots 0 until they reach the bottom of said recess, the parts then being in the position of Fig. 2. By this movement the highest part of projection 6 will pass the position indicated byline w w, permitting shank 72 to swing slightly to- By this movement, also, the inner jaw will be forced forwardly to its fullest extent, burying the teeth of the jawfaces in the sides of the pipe and causing the handle and shank a to become locked from further relative swinging movement, so thatmust be moved back to the position of Fig.

3. The parts are so arranged that the jaws will be locked together as the lugs (Z move into the recesses e and the middle portion of projection 0 passes It will be observed that as the pawl engages the opposite side of shank b from projection e the reaction of the work on the face 6 against the action of the pawl as it forces shank 5 toward face a will cause the pointed end of the pawl to swing inward and, in conjunction with spring 9, to press the opposite side of the shank from the rack against the projection a with considerable force. The short movement of the projection a past the point of line m w permits the shank b to swing upward slightly instead of materially advancing the jaw b, so that the final movement of the line 00 w, as in Fig. 2.

moved into the upthe handle 6 is somewhat assisted by pressure exerted on the jaw-face o. It follows, therefore, that the reverse order of operation must take place when the jaws are disengaged, and therefore that the particular force which tends to separate the jaws (the reaction of the work thereon) actually tends to hold the jaws locked on the work until the handle has been swung back far enough to carry the highest point on projection 6 back to dotted line 00 m. The particular advantage of this construction resides in the fact that the workman may let go of the handle after having moved the parts to the position of Fig. 2 without danger of having the jaws become unlocked or disconnected from the work, as they would be likely to do if the weight of the handle alone had to be relied on to hold the jaws in place. The force which tends to hold the jaws locked may be easily overcome, however, by swinging the handle back on its pivot, and as the handle is moved to the position of Fig. 3 itwill With- IIO draw the jaw 7) from the work by reason of the frictional engagement therebctween.

As the jaws can only be forced a certain distance by the handle, the force with which the jaws are pressed against the pipe does not vary in proportion to the force applied to the handle, so that all possibility of the pipe being crushed when considerable force must be employed to turn the pipe is avoided.

Practically all parts of the device may be cast, and aside from the desirability of sharpening the jaw-teeth machine-work thereon is unnecessary, reducing the cost of manufacture to a minimum. The whole device is very durable, and the handle portion is not weakened by reason of the joint between the shank (b and lever e, the particular form of joint which I employ being a highly advantageous and important feature of my invention.

\Vhile the pawl-and-ratchet connection between the shank b and the short arm of the operating lever or handle e is particularly desirable for certain reasons, yet I do not desire to limit my invention to this particular form of adjustable connection between these parts, and in some instances I have found the form of connection illustrated in Fig. 11 to be particularly desirable. In this form of connection the shank 6' passes through the short arm of the operating-lever as before and is provided with a screw-thread If, on which a nut it is threaded, said nut being located in a recess b formed in the lever. This recess it is somewhat larger than the nut, so that the latter may tip to a certain extent therein to allow for the movement of the lever to an oblique position in forcing the jaws together upon the pipe, as before described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A pi pe-wrench comprising the outer jaw,

a shank connected thereto having a hookshaped end portion, the inner jaw movably mounted thereon, a lever having a hook-shaped end corresponding to and interlocking with the end of said shank to provide a pivot-point therebetween, an arm projecting from said lever adjacent said connection, and an adjustable connection between said inner jaw and said arm, substantially as described.

2. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw, a shank connected thereto having a hookshaped end portion, the inner jaw movably mounted thereon, a lever having a hook-shaped end corresponding to and interlocking with the end of said shank to provide a pivot-point therebetween, a supplemental connection between said shank and lever to prevent displacement of said joint, an arm projecting from said lever adjacent said connection, and an adjustable connection between said inner jaw and said arm, substantially as described.

3. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw,

a shank connected thereto having a hookshaped end portion, the inner jaw movably mounted thereon,a lever having a hook-shaped end corresponding to and interlocking with the end of said shank to provide a pivot-point thercbetween, a pin-and-slot connection between said shank and lever, an arm projecting from said lever adjacent said connection, and an adjustable connection between said inner jaw and said arm, substantially as described.

4:. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw havinga shank,the inner jaw movable thereon, an operating-lever and an interlocking connection between said lever and said shank permitting relative swinging action, an arm projecting from said lever and an adjustable connection between said arm and said inner jaw, substantially as described.

5. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw, a shank connected thereto having a hookshaped end portion, the inner jaw movably mounted thereon, an operating-lever having a recess in which the end of said shank is located, providing a relative swinging movement therebetween, the side walls of said recess having slots, lugs at opposite sides of said shank arranged in said slots, an arm projecting from the opposite side of said lever from said recess, and an adjustable connection between said arm and said inner jaw, substantially as described.

6. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw, a shank connected thereto having a semicircularly-shaped end and a similarly-shaped recess in its inner side adjacent said end, a lever having correspondingly-shaped end and recess arranged so that the end of one engages the recess of the other, supplemental connecting means between said shank and lover permitting pivotal movement of the lever on the shank, the inner jaw movably mounted on the outer jaw, a projecting arm on said lever and an adjustable connection between said arm and inner jaw, substantially as described.

7. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer jaw, a shank connected thereto having a hookshaped end portion, the innerjaw movably mounted thereon, an operating-lever having a recess in which the end of said shank is located, providing a relative swinging movement therebetween, the side walls of said recess having slots extending from the outer edges thereof to points adjacent the bottom of said recess, and having recesses leading outward from the lower ends of said slots, lugs at opposite sides of said shank arranged in said slots, an arm projecting from the opposite side of said lever from said recess, and an adjustable connection between said arm and said inner jaw, substantially as described.

8. A pipe-wrench comprising the outer and inner jaws, each having a shank, a slidable connection thcrebetween, a lever pivoted to said outer jaw-shank, a projection thereon arranged to engage the inner side of said inner In testimony whereofIhave signed mynaine aw-shank, a rack on the outer slde of said to thls speclficatlon lnthe presence of two subshank, an arm on said lever, a pawl mounted I scrlblng w1tnesses.

thereon in position to engage said rack, and LUKE MILLS. to move said inner jaw toward the outer jaw 'itnesses: when said handle is swung forward on its pivot, LoUIs H. HARRIMAN,

substantially as described. ARTHUR P. CooLEY. 

